Private security industry grows as pay rate stays flat

The private security industry is considered one of the fastest growing industries in the nation, with an expected growth rate of 17 percent by 2016, according to the Department of Labor.

The growth is related to concerns about crime, vandalism and terrorism. Security guards and patrol service employment spiked in 2002 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, dropped in 2003 and have continued to rise steadily since, according to the department. About 1,710 security guards are employed in the Lehigh Valley.

But as the industry continues its growth, growth in the guards' wallets has not kept pace. Security guards work long, mostly night hours, and earn $21,000 to $23,000 a year, according to 2006 statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Security guards are hired to protect against fire, theft, vandalism, terrorism and illegal activity and enforce the laws on their employers' property. Sometimes, they do it with nothing more than a uniform and a phone.

About $34 billion a year is spent on private security services, a number that will only increase, according to a Service Employees International Union report in January 2006. While private security is one of the fastest growing occupations in the country, the union says it also has turnover rates comparable to the fast food industry and little oversight or regulations.

Guards who work at medical facilities and hospitals earn the most money, with a 2006 median annual wage of $26,610, followed by guards who work at schools, according to the labor department.

Following them in pay rates were guards working at local government jobs, followed by those working for other guard or investigation services and armored cars, the statistics show.

Security companies often submit the lowest bids possible to win contracts from clients, which reflects on the salaries of the guards. The contracts also mean lower profits and less money for training.

"We battle with other companies over rates and if the rates would go up, payroll would go up and we'd see a more stable work force," said James Spang, owner of Lehigh Law Enforcement Officers Association Inc. in Allentown. "Pay rates are low and job retention is ... medium to low."

Spang said he is hoping to see changes in the industry in coming years if Harrisburg would adopt a bill, introduced by Rep. Don Walko, D-Pittsburgh, to enforce security company licensing guidelines. While the bill wouldn't make it tougher to become a security guard, it would create an oversight committee to review security firms and licensing procedures, according to Jim Carino, former president and founder of the Pennsylvania Association of Licensed Investigators.

The oversight committee could weed out problem security companies. That could help eliminate some of the bidding wars for client contracts, he said.

"There is some heavy, heavy competition going on," Carino said. "We've seen some companies get underbid by a penny an hour. An effective low bid can be devastating, and might lead to a poor quality of work."

According to the National Association of Security Companies, between 11,000 and 15,000 companies employ 1.2 million private security officers. That number is nearly double that of police officers, industry experts say.

Lehigh Law Enforcement Officers began in 1995, and now has 70 employees, including more than 40 full-timers, who work about 90 percent of the time at night or during weekends, Spang said. The company works at the Allentown Fairgrounds and other Allentown sites.

Every security officer who works for Lehigh Law Enforcement goes through an FBI background check, psychological and physical exam, and armed officers must also take about 50 hours of classroom training, with at least 10 hours in the shooting range, he said.

According to state law, any security officer who carries a lethal weapon, whether a gun or a night stick, has to be certified by state police. The certification has to be updated every five years.

Pennsylvania is among 31 states that do not require unarmed officers to have specialized training, according to the SEIU. If Walko's bill passes, training standards would be uniform throughout the state.

Eventually, Spang said he'd like to see additional training for events such as terrorism or natural disasters.

"We are the ultimate first-responders," he said. "If we have a major emergency in downtown, you have a ready-made security force that would protect its properties while police conduct investigations."

While turnover for security jobs can be high, Spang said he tries to be picky about whom he hires.

He prefers semi-retired professionals, such as police officers, people with military experience or young adults going through a college program on their way to another law enforcement job, he said.

Bill Trexler, a 68-year-old retired Mack Trucks employee with a bad hip, said that when he went looking for a security job, he just breezed through the classified section and saw an opening with Infinity Security in Kutztown. Besides a criminal check, all he had to do was prove he had his own transportation and a high school diploma.

Trexler worked the 4 p.m.-to-midnight shift at the LANTA bus station on Sixth Street in Allentown alone and without a weapon.

Some nights, Trexler said, he would hear gunshots. His family, including his son-in-law who is a police officer, tried talking him into quitting, but Trexler continued the beat for four months.

"My family was telling me I was crazy," said Trexler. "They said it was dangerous to be working that job, but I was brought up to think I'm still a tough guy."

Trexler said he was paid $9.50 an hour, but then was told his pay was being cut. Infinity denied his account.

Trexler, who said he was informed about his pay cut on Christmas Eve, quit that day.